Variable length fish lure



SePt- 18, 1951 G. A. cUMMlNs 2,568,488

VARIABLE LENGTH FISH LURE Filed Deo. ze, 1947 l N V E N TO R. en/ge A!Camry/fzs ATTORNEY.

Patented Sept. 18, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE VARIABLE LENGTH ISHLURE George A. Cummins, San Francisco, Calif.

Application December 26, 1947, Serial No. 794,067 `e claims. (c1.fis-4.2.09)

The present invention relates in general to lures of the kind employedas artificial bait in fishing, and it deals more particularly with thetype of lure commonly designated as a plug.

Broadly speaking it is the ob-ject of the invention to provide a bait ofthis character which is efcient and reliable in operation, attractive inappearance, simple in construction and comparatively inexpensive tomanufacture.

Another object is to provide a lure which can readily be changed in formand character for different types of fishing. More specifically it isthe object of the invention to provide a plug which is variable inlength, variable in weight, variable in color and variable in its actionor movement when used in the water.`

To this end I provide a lure or plug made up of separable sections, thenumber of sections used in any case determining the length of the plug.For `buoyancy the individual sections are provided with holes orcavities which are covered and sealed when the parts are assembled,forming water-tight air chambers in the plug; weights are provided whichare insertable in one or more chambers whereby the lure may be employedeither for surface or deep water iishing simply by ballasting itproperly.

Certain parts of my lure are interchangeable and may be located atdifferent places or stations in the lure assembly to produce differentstyles of action when the bait is towed at the end of a fishing line.Alsovario-us action" and attractor ttings are readily included oromitted from the assembly at will and may be used in combination withone another if desired.

According to the invention, the sections of my part of the specificationand are to be read in conjunction therewith, and in which like referencenumerals are employed toidentify like parts of the various views:

Fig. l is a side elevational view of one assembled form of my lure withparts broken away for purposes of illustration,

Fig. 2 is a horizontal cross-section taken approximately along the line2 2 of Fig. l in the direction of the arrows, 1

Fig. 3 is a vertical cross-section taken along the line 3 3 of Fig. l inthe direction of the arrows,

Fig. 4 is a vertical cross-section taken along the line 4 4 of Fig. l inthe direction of the arrows,

Fig. 5 is a vertical cross-section taken along 5 5 of Fig. 1,

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of `another assembled form of my lure, and

Fig. 7 is an elevational view of one of the spacers employed in my lure,showing a modified form of construction.

The parts of my lure can be assembled in various ways, one of thesimplest of which is shown in Fig. 6. Referring to that ligure it willbe seen that the assembly comprises a thin wafer l0 sandwiched between apair of tapered members I2 and I4. As will be made clearer presently,these parts are mounted on an elongated rod IE extending axially throughthe assembly, which rod has a hook IB at one end and a wing nut 2Uscrewed to the other end to clamp the parts together.

At its large inner end each tapered member is generally cylindrical inshape, the adjacent portion preferalbly comprising a truncated cone orconoid as shown. Wafer l0 is shaped to provide an up-standing earapertured at 22, the balance of its contour being circular and of adiameter to conform with the large ends ofthe tapered members.

In use, a single or multiple iish hook 24 is connected to the rear ordoubled-back end of rod I6 together with ya hair skirt or buck tail 26if desired. A leader 28, also connected to the rear end of rod I6,extends forwardly through the aperture or eye 22 (which is provided witha narrow slot 30 to facilitate the threading thereof) and is fastened tothe trailing end of the fish line. As the lure is drawn through thewater, it will be noted that the motive force is applied not to theforward or leading end of the lure as is conventional but to thetrailing end; :in effect, it is pushed through the water and since theleader passes through eye 22 this serves as a pivot point about whichthe lure tends to oscillate or wobble from side to side as it advances.To limit the extent of the side-wise oscillation, the forward end of thelure is loosely connected to the leader 28 by means of an auxiliaryleader or arc control link 32 having one end connected to wing nut andthe other to the main leader 28.

With the wing nut occupying the position shown, Y

as is normal, the lure in its oscillation will deviate equally to eitherside of center, but if the wing nut is turned degrees or a fractionthereof in either direction, the deviation to one side will be morepronounced than to the other, which is advantageous in some instances.

My lure can be made longer than shown in Fig. 6 simply by employing alonger'axial rod I6 and inserting between the tapered end members I2 andI4 one ormore spacing disks 34, the preferred form of which is shown inFigs. 1, 2 and 4.

' It is contemplated that rod I6 maybe-supplied in multiple lengths, onerod for each of the varied lengths of lure deemed practical and thusadvisable to assemble. 1

As best seen in Figs. 2 and 4, the opposite sides of the disks aredished or concaved as at 36 to provide marginal rims 3:8, the rims ofadjacent disks` seating against one another to provide a water-tightjoint when'the-disks are assembled side by side. Each disk haswa smallaperture, square in shape, to receive Vthe square `shank rof rod I6;` oneitherside of the central aperture are a pair of larger holes 40 while athird hole 4I isY spaced radially from the center and equidistantbetween-holes 40. Hole4l preferably is round in shape while thediametrically opposite holes 4D may either be round or oblong (see 40',Fig. 7). When properly assembled on rod Iythe disks have theircorresponding holes in alignment,such alignment being preserved by a:square cross-section of the rod and-the registering central aperturesof the ydisk which prevents rotation of the disks relative to the rod.

4In the assembly shown inFigs. 1 and 2, the central spacer42 differsfrom disks 34 in that it has av radially extending projection 43contain-ing a leader eye 44. A diagonal slot 45 communicates with theeye to facilitate threading a leaderr therethrough. On a diametricalline with the projection there are a pair of holes -46 and 41 spaced oneither side of a central square aperture, these holes extendingvthroughthe'spacer from face to face; opposite faces of the memberareconcaved or dished as hereinbefore described so that only the annularmarginof the spacerengages `adja Vcent disks.

Clamped between'the forward tapered member d I2 and the adjoining spacerdisk 34 there is a circular wafer 4-8 having an integral downwardly andforwardly projecting deep-runner lip 49. At the other end of the lurebetween the rear tapered member I4 and the adjoining disk there is asimilar wafer 50 having laterally projecting ears `52 bent back andapertured at their trailingV ends to receivebuck tails or hair skirts'54. From the top of the wafer a strip 5B extends rearwardly anddownwardly, this `strip containing a narrow longitudinal slot ofsufficient length to permit hook IB to project therethrough. At its tipthe strip 56 is apertured `to receive a buck tail as shown in Fig. l.

A single or multiple shhook such as 58 may be fastened to the luresimply by backing off the wing nut'20 and sliding'rod I6 axially to theright until the tip of hook I8 is .clear of the strip 5t. rihe eye ofthe fish hook then is slipped over the open end of hook I8 and the wingnut 2U again tightened to advance the tip of hook I8 through the slot instrip 56 and into the shallow channel provided at the rear of member VI4for vreceiving same (see Fig. 1), after which it is impossible fortheliish hook to become detached.

The end of the leader 28 also is connected to hook I8 and extendsforwardly through eye 44 to the end of the iish line. The wobble actionor compound side wiseoscillation of the lure will be understood from thepreviousexplanation, this tween theend members I2 and I4 and that theleader guides I0'and -42 may be employed interchangeably in the assemblyaccording to the iishermans preference.

Thus the plug may be varied in length at will.,V In an assembly having aplurality of spacers as shown in Figs..l and 2V the leaderguide 42 maybe arranged in the center of the lure or it may be positioned off-centerby arranging more disks34 behind the guide than in front of it, or viceversa; this alters the point about which the lure oscillates or wobbles'pas it is drawn vthrough the water, and considerable variation in themovement of the device maybe obtained in this fashion.

. The action of theidevice also can be altered materially by reversingdisk-43 relative to the balance of the assemblyso that the lip 4Svtrails rearwardly instead of extending forwardly as shown. As a matter.of.fact, the deep` runner 49 can .be omitted `entirely from theassemblyif desired or can bereplaced by an action tting of a differentshape. `Member .50. also can be omitted if preferred and if omitted, abuckl tail can be fastened to the loop or eye I8 along with the iishhook.

In addition to the -foregoing variations in assembly it is possible toadapt. my lure readily for either shallow fishing orv deep waterfishing. In this connection it .should bel noted that when the taperedend members I2 and I4 and any intermediate spacers employed in theassembly are clamped tightly together, the communicating holes in theseparts form water-tight chambers giving Vthe lure buoyancy even thoughthe parts be made of material having a specic gravity heavier than thatof water. A shoulder 6D on rod I6 serves as a stop forrear member I4 andthis assists Wing nut 20 in clamping the members with the requisitetightness to make the joints between adjacent parts water-tight.

When assemblingthe lure for use as a deep .water bait, the holes 4| inspacing disks 34 are aligned with the bottom hole 41 in the leader guideand a heavy ballast means Vintroduced therein. This ballast may comprisea series of short cylindrical weights or slugs 62`placed end to end, theaxial dimension of each slug being equal to the thickness of one spacingmember 34; or, alternatively, the ballast maycomprise a single rodextending through the aligned holes from on end of the lure to theother. Assuming the ballast material to be' heavier than the materialmaking up the body of the lure as is intended to Y be the case, it willbe clear that the lures center When the weights are omitted with a viewto using the lure as a top-water bait, holes 4l in spacing member 34preferably are aligned with the upper hole 96 in the leader guidethereby to maintain the center' of gravity of the assembly below itsgeometric axis.

The tapered end members I2 and i4, the spacer disks 34 and the leaderguide t2 can be made of various materials. It is preferred however tomold them out of clear or colored plastic and it is contemplated thatthe parts assembled to form a lure may all be of the same color or maybe of different colors to present a variegated appearance. When clearplastic parts are used, color can be imparted thereto by the use ofcolored inserts in the aligned holes; for instance the ballast slugs maybe of brushed brass or stainless steel whereupon due to the opticalproperties of the plastic, the body of the lure will assure a gold orsilver color.

From the foregoing it will be seen that this invention is one welladapted to attain all the ends and objects hereinbefore set forthtogether with other advantages which are objects and which are inherentto the device.

It will be understood that certain features and subcombinations are ofutility and may be employed without reference to other features andsubcombinations. This is contemplated by and is within the scope ofappended claims.

Inasmuch as many possible embodiments of the invention may be madewithout departing from the scope thereof, it is to be understood thatall matter herein set forth or shown in the accompanying drawings is tobe interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. In a iish lure, interchangeable perforate disks, a pair of endmembers, and means for clamping the disks between the end members toform an elongated body wherein the perforations in the disks are alignedto form three chambers disposed lengthwise of the body, two of thechambers being on the same level as the longitudinal axis of the bodyand the third chamber being vertically aligned with said axis.

2. A lure as in claim 1 wherein said third chamber is above the axis ofthe body.

3. A lure as in claim 1 wherein said third chamber is below the axis ofthe body and conl tains removable ballast material.

4. In a fish lure, a plurality of centrally apertured disks mounted on arod, said rod and said apertures being non-circular whereby said disksare non-rotatable relative to one another, and

means on the rod for clamping the disks tightly together in abuttingrelation, said disks having registering off-center perforationscommunicating with one another when the disks are clamped together toform a buoyancy chamber whose axis is parallel to the axis of said rodbut spaced radially therefrom.

5. A lure as in claim 4 wherein at least one face of each disk isconcave so only the rim of the face seats against the adjoining disk.

6. In a iish lure, a plurality of centrally apertured disks mounted on arod, said rod and said apertures being non-circular whereby said disksare non-rotatable relative to one another, means on the rod for clampingthe disks tightly together in abutting relation, said disks havingregistering off-center perforations communicating with one another whenthe disks are clamped together thereby to form an elongated chamberwhose axis is parallel to the axis of said rod but spaced radiallytherefrom, and a removable ballast material in said chamber.

7. A lure as in claim 6 wherein said ballast material comprises aplurality of weights each conforming in cross section with thetransverse cross section oi said chamber.

8. In a fish lure, a plurality of centrally apertured disks mounted on arod, said rod and said apertures being non-circular whereby said disksare non-rotatable relative to one another, and means on the rod forclamping the disks tightly together in abutting relation, said diskshaving registering oi-center perforations communicating with one anotherwhen the disks are clamped together to form an elongated chamber whoseaxis is parallel to the axis of said rod but spaced radially therefrom,said disks also having registering oifecenter perforations communicatingwith one another when the disks are clamped together to form a secondelongated chamber whose axis is parallel to the axis of the rod butspaced radially therefrom, the axes of said rod and said chambers beingdisposed in the same plane with the axis of the rod between the twochambers.

9. A lure as in claim 8 wherein one of said chambers contains aremovable ballast material, the other of said chambers being a buoyancychamber.

GEORGE A. CUMMINS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 251,087 Austin Dec. 20, 1881679,721 Bristol Aug. 6, 1981 1,333,154 Buddle Mar. 9, 1926 1,480,099Murphy Jan. 8, 1924 1,606,877 Howe Nov. 16, 1926 1,792,989 LaGue Feb..17, 1931 1,833,241 Wright Nov. 24, 1931 1,867,458 Keuper July 12, 19321,892,892 Jamar Jan. 3, 1933 1,941,370 Vann Dec. 26, 1933 1,972,697Walsh Sept. 4, 1934 1,993,798 Peterson Mar. 12, 1935 2,218,421 EdgarOct. 15, 1940 2,226,331 Allison Dec. 24, 1940 2,288,595 Peterson July 7,1942 2,415,692 Huston Feb. 11, 1947

